The Shocking Deal
by bingalovers138
Summary: He never thought that he would make a deal with her. He never thought that it could be her. What was that made them come together? Was it their past? Their present? Or their future? Read to know. Post Hogwarts. After HBP. Do read and review.WE NEED REVIEW
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is after the Halfblood Prince. I created my own future for them. Hope you like it. The first two chapters are kind of introductions of the characters and their pasts. It's an After Hogwarts story. Kindly bear the story coz I am sure you'll like it later. Have a nice read!;)**

**CHAPTER 1: HER NIGHTMARE**

_She was walking down the street full of wizards and witches who stood on the either sides of the street . Her bushy hair flared as she walked through the street like an article on display . Her two best friends were walking besides her on the left and right sides with their wands out and steady in their hands. But all this could not stop her from hearing the faint murmurs that could be heard very clearly "Traitor " "mudblood" "Bitch" " Killed her own types too" "traitor"_

_"How could they still like her?" . The last one , she was sure was directed to her two best friends._

_Suddenly a middle aged witch came running towards them with her wand drawn. She was crying out," I'm going to kill you, you bitch! You are not worthy of all this. You are a traitor . You defied your own people. You deserve to be killed. I'm gonna kill you."_

_But then her best friend with jet black unruly hair stepped in front of her and said to the older witch, " If you want to kill her, then you would have to kill me too."_

_"No, Harry its alright. Let her say that. Its fine.", said the girl._

_"No, they can't say that. They don't know the truth. They don't believe it !" her other best friend from the other side said._

_Then all the wizards and witches started surrounding them. Her best friends took their positions around her._

_They were shouting and cursing her._

_"YOU ARE A TRAITOR!"_

_"YOU MUDBLOOD BITCH, YOU SHALL DIE!"_

_She could hear their yells of dislike and disgust. She could not stop tears that were forming in her eyes. She felt as if her whole world had collapsed. Those voices were taking their toll on her. Making her feel dirty, unwanted and hated. She thought only if they really accepted the truth then things could have been a lot better._

_Amidst all these thoughts she could hear her best friends defending her._

_" She was under the Imperious. Don't you get it.", said one of them._

_" If you want to kill her then before you do that face us first", said the second one with red hair._

_The crowd encircling them stopped but their shouts got louder._

_"TRAITOR"_

_"TRAITOR"_

_"TRAITOR"_

_That was she could hear from all the sides. She couldn't take it anymore. She just couldn't._

_That was it, she could not control the tears in her eyes, when she screamed, " I AM NOT A TRAITOR. I DID NOT DO ANYTHING ON PURPOSE "_

Five years later, Hermione Granger woke up in her bedroom, soaked in cold sweat. She was having the same dream, or one should say nightmare every damned night since she, in reality had experienced that dreading day. It was the last day of the War when she was rescued by her two friends from the clutches of Lord Voldemort. When she and her friends had left for the Horcrux Quest, she had been captured by the Death Eaters just before they were going to destroy the last Horcrux and later face the Dark lord.

She was placed under the Imperious Curse and used as a pawn to kill people. She, though aware of her condition was not able to do anything but follow the orders given to her. She killed people fighting for the Light Side. She was found in the battle field by her two best friends who immediately understood that she was under the curse.

They rescued her and brought her back. But this was not the end for her but it was the beginning of her torture of being in the Wizarding World. Though she was declared clear of all the charges because of the lack of evidence for the charges of murders. Her friends tried to convince the Wizengamot about the curse but they did not accept it, calling it a foolish theory from their part to save Hermione.

Only she, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley were the three people that mostly knew about the Imperious. Even the Order, her Gryffindor friends including her best girlfriend Ginny too turned their backs on her. Hermione knew that nobody except Harry and Ron believed that she was not guilty. She was an outcaste from the Wizarding World. She had accepted Harry's offer to live with them and their wives in a large mansion. They wanted to be sure about her security.

She smiled at the memory of her two best friends and how they had stuck to her in all ways, caring and protecting her. Harry Potter, 23, an Auror was Married to Ginevra Weasley who worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation and her other best friend, Ron Weasley worked as a Keeper for The Shooting Stars and was married to Parvati Patil who was a journalist in the Daily Prophet. Their wives found Hermione guilty too no matter how much they tried to explain the situation to them.

Hermione, then glanced over to her bed-side alarm clock. It was almost seven. She got up and went to her bathroom and after a refreshing shower came out and dressed in black trousers and a pastel green button down shirt giving her a business like look. She left her hair down which fell to her waist in untamed but graceful waves. She put up some basic makeup of mascara and slight blush and eyeliner and her favorite perfume of vanilla and peaches.

Hermione, after her regular morning routine left her sleeping chambers to head down to meet her best friends and their wives at breakfast.

The place, where they lived was an old fashioned small size two storey mansion in the English countryside. It was a house with almost 12 bedrooms but 2 of them were turned into a study and a library, by Hermione's request.

She went from her bedroom to the large Mediterranean style kitchen cum dining which had large couches and fireplaces with large bay windows showing the extensive English countryside. The kitchen was on the right side with the dining table in the center and the sofas and fireplace on the left. The bay windows behind the dining table.

As she reached the kitchen, she saw her best friends already sitting on the table waiting for the breakfast to be placed for them by their wives who were cooking in the kitchen.

"Good Morning, Harry, Ron", Hermione greeted.

"Good Morning, 'Mione", they replied in unison.

At this the three of them burst laughing. Lost in themselves they couldn't see the frowning faces of the guys' wives.

"So how was the morning?", asked Harry.

"The same dream again. I just can't stop it.", replied Hermione tears were forming in her eyes as she recalled the memory.

"Tis alright, 'Mione. Just hope for the better", said Ron.

"Things didn't change then and they aren't gonna change now.", she countered back.

This statement of hers did quieten her friends. They got up and Harry said, "We gotta go, they called us early."

They went and kissed their wives and then came and gave a peck on Hermione's cheek. They went towards the fireplace, threw some Floo Powder in and stepped into the fire saying, "Ministry Of Magic, Atrium" and vanished into the green flames.

Hermione was left alone with only Ginny and Parvati for company. Not that Hermione did not like the two but it was quite the opposite. Ginny and Parvati were not really fond of Hermione after the War, but did manage to be civil to her for their husbands' sakes.

Hermione, now headed towards the cooking area to make her breakfast. When she saw Ginny and Parvati there she thought that a simple conversation wouldn't be bad. But, Oh Boy! She was so wrong that a simple conversation could lead to letting go of pent-up feelings.

"Good Morning to you, Ginny and you too, Parvati.", said Hermione cheerfully, looking forward for their replies.

But she didn't get any greetings, only some grumbling. Frowning at what she heard, she tried again to strike a conversation.

"Is everything fine?", Hermione queried in the most subtle way she could manage.

"Oh My! Hermione! You 're askin' us whether everything is fine! Well, Shouldn't you be already aware of the cause due to which nothing's fine?", Ginny replied in a mocking tone.

"Nothing's fine, Hermione. And you 're the one sole reason responsible for that!", Parvati snapped.

"You 're the bloody fucking reason why our husbands hardly look at us.", Ginny spat with venomous tone.

"All they care about is HERMIONE. ' 'Mione this, 'Mione that ' is all I hear from Ron's mouth.", Parvati rambled on.

" 'Such a bad dream. How could they say all that about our Hermione' is all that Harry talks about. All that Harry discusses with me is your fucking nightmares & dilemmas.", Ginny continued with her taunting.

Hermione watched in shock and an open mouth hearing how the two other women went on and on cursing her presence in the house. All Hermione could do now was to stop the tears of unhappiness falling from her eyes.

"I ..don't …understa-", Hermione mumbled.

"She says she doesn't understand and they call you the smartest witch after Ravenclaw. Ha! What is there to understand? Uh? Hermione.", Ginny cut through.

"Let me put it straight for you. YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE, HERMIONE. You are a traitor, a person who killed innocent people. WE HATE YOU !", Parvati spat at her.

"I ..didn't …kill ..anybody. I was ….under the …Imperious Cur-", Hermione choked out between the tears that now streaked her cheeks, before she was interrupted again.

"Yeah! Yeah! Don't give us that shit! We don't believe that crappy story of yours that you fed our husbands.", Parvati said , cutting through Hermione's sentence.

" Coz of you, we don't have the privacy that we want. All you have to do is to think up some bloody dramatic nightmare and start screaming to get our husbands out at night and all we can do is to wait till they come back after bloody calming you down.", Ginny accused her.

"I never meant to hurt you.", Hermione quietly replied.

"Drop that _'holier-than thou_' act, Hermione. You can get all the sympathy you want from Harry and Ron but not from me or Parvati.", Ginny spat back at her.

"Why don't you just get lost from here, uh? Things would be so much better for us and our families if you weren't here.", Parvati said, bluntly.

"I don't get you. Why are you still here after so much humiliation?", Ginny asked her.

Hermione gaped in shock and surprise at the words that met her ears. She could not believe that these words were coming out from the people she loved. _Did Ginny and Parvati, just say that they want me to leave_, thought Hermione.

She understood that her presence was bothering Harry's and Ron's married lives. She never wanted to be the third wheel, but the recent revelations told her otherwise.

Her best friends may have never mentioned this but their wives' views did make her start thinking again 'bout her place there. She wanted to leave so that at least her friends could have their 'happily-ever-after" endings.

She ran back to her bedroom, in tears after hearing Ginny's words that were filled with loathe and distrust. She slammed the door shut, before slipping down to the floor in emotional pain. She cried and cried, her eyes pained, her throat choked, her nose clammed up, her head was spinning but even more her heart was burning with the pain and realization that had taken over her.

Hermione contemplated over the things that she had heard. Those words were true, she thought_. How could I never see that coming? Why didn't I realize that before so that I could have made their lives better earlier? _

She kept thinking of what to do and, finally, after a lot of reasoning she made the difficult decision.

It was almost 7:30 PM, when Harry headed towards Hermione's bedroom to call hr for dinner downstairs.

He first knocked, " 'Mione, you in there? Come on, you 're late for dinner.", he said, thinking how his friend was never late for anything be it homework or dinner.

No response.

"Come on, Hermione. I know you are in there coz library is empty. Come on, dinner's getting cold", he said, only to be met with more silence,

"Ron! Come up fast and ask Hermione to come down.", Harry shouted downstairs to call his red-head friend.

Ron came running up and banged at Hermione's bedroom door.

"Hermione, come down fast. I'm dying of hunger." (BANG)(BANG) "Oi! Minniekins'. Tis' not funny.", Ron hollered at the wood, expecting his friend to open the door on hearing her ridiculous nickname.

Still no response. Harry and Ron exchanged a worried glance.

"We 're comin' in, 'Mione. Alohomora.", Harry said as he cast the spell at the lock.

As the two men entered the room, they expected to find their female friend to either be sleeping or be in the bathroom but all they found was an empty room.

The bathroom door was open and it was empty while the bed was neatly made up.

A sole letter was placed on the light blue covers of the four-poster bed, addressed to Harry and Ron in neat hand writing. Ron saw it first, he picked it up and asked Harry to come close so they could read it.

_Dear Harry and Ron,_

_All these years you have cared for me and protected me from all that was bad. But now I thought, it was time that I let you lead your individual lives and I live mine too._

_I need to face the truth and accept it. I need time for myself. I want you guys to understand that I will not hurt myself in any way._

_I'm leaving only for the better of you two, and myself. Please, guys, don't try to look for me because I need time and I promise to return when I'll be able to face the problems._

_Hope you live your lives to the fullest._

_Love to Ginny and Parvati._

_Goodbye._

_Yours,_

_Hermione. _


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is the next chappie. Hope u like it. This is abt Draco and what he's been upto. U 'll like it. I think so. Do read and review. ;)**

**Chapter 2 - HIS NIGHTMARE**

He stood there looking out of the window. No matter how much he denied this but he knew that he did not belong to this world. Something that was even more hard to accept was that one day he would have to return... to the same people which had robbed him of his soul, his confidence, his ability to love , his home and above all his family.

He knew they would come to him after Lord Voldemort's end, he knew he would be expected to carry on the fight, but he chose otherwise. They called him 'a coward ', 'a spineless cold blooded slug' , 'a slander on his ancestors blood', but the truth was that what he did, could only be done by a man of iron will and of such courage and valor that is unheard of even in a Gryffindor .

He left his people, his world, his home behind him and went away because no matter what the other made of him, he knew about his potentials. He knew about the power. The anger. The hatred. The loathing, that he held within him and they made him almost afraid of himself, afraid that this volcano within him might erupt.

People thought he ran away ……true…...but from whom?

Himself .

His guilt never let him be at peace . He migrated to the muggle world……changed himself…...came out as someone else. Why? Because, he thought this was the best way of getting rid of his past. But they proved him wrong. Five long years could not prevent them from coming back to him. Yes! they were back again…... something that he always knew would happen.

He stood tall at six feet one, with silky platinum blond hair that reminded him of his parents, every time he looked into the mirror. The only positive (quite unknown to him as well) that he derived out of his horrible experiences was that he had started paying little or almost no attention to his looks and hair, that were now allowed to fall onto his face which otherwise till a few years back were always gelled back, he thought it looked cool . And mind you, his hair were something the Slytherin girls use to swear by.

His face, flawless as one would say, was emotionless, but his steel grey eyes had a storm raging in them . Still no one could understand what they said. It was almost impossible to break through the barriers that he had built around himself. But It was still very strange that no one could recognize the true person who was navigating through their souls from behind the careless locks of hair floating in front of his eyes , those eyes that had a hard time keeping anything to themselves.

His broad shoulders and strong arms had once been accustomed to giving support to swooning women who would die or kill to be with him. He was a true lady killer and undoubtedly the biggest playboy ever to roam the corridors of Hogwarts. But things had changed now. He seemed too emotionally exhausted to be in a relationship ever again. (It is a completely different matter that most women would bargain happily for a relationship without any commitment just to be with him. He was Draco Malfoy after all, but he himself was fed up of changing his girlfriends every third day.)

His trademark smirk (His mother said that he had a smirk on his face the moment he was born because the nurse that was beside his mother was really very, very, sy) was now rarely to be seen , save those times when he saw his best friend going mad in love all over again with his wife for the "25 HUNDRED 143 THOUSAND MILLION BILLIONTH TIME".

Yes Blaise Zabini , his friend and confidant had done extremely well in rising from the position of a class mate and then a business associate to being the only person in his life whom he ever opened up to (and one could consider him extremely lucky in being so) . Blaise had helped him with his family business, ever since he had left for the muggle world. He had put Blaise in charge of the properties and vaults at Gringotts (that were filled with galleons to an extent that there was probably no place to accommodate even a lungful of air) that he had inherited after his father's death .

Though he didn't need, or for that matter want the money or the properties. He took it anyway, one, because no matter what had happened, he was proud of his family name and loved his parents and would be extremely happy to possess every single thing that had once belonged to them. Two , he could not stand his useless relatives laying a finger on anything that bore his family's name . He thought that such sorry and disgusting figures, such traitors, who had never even earned their food had nothing to do with his family's hard earned money.

He didn't care from where his father brought the money because he knew that every Knut came with a lot of hard work put into it. He had successfully established a business of his own in he muggle world too, dealing in medical equipments and machines( needless to say he had hard time understanding how they actually worked.) As expected he had risen to great heights in this venture too ,he had been addicted to winning after all. But he had lost then and that one time had left nothing like it used to be.

That one defeat ( which hardly was one. After all he had been expected to fight the greatest wizard of their times) had led people to question his abilities, his guts, without giving any consideration to the fact that even the dark lord himself had never been able to damage as much as Dumbledore's nail.

But no. There was no margin for error. They had ignored him thereafter, treated him as a sidekick, without realizing that he was but a sixteen year old wizard at that time, who, though was born into one of the most influential and strong family of the wizarding world was still not mature enough to carry out such dangerous designs. That one defeat had left nothing like it used to be.

He himself was left with a lot of unanswered questions . And a strange awkwardness now defined him. His anguish and pain was not understood by anyone and nothing could soothe his aching heart. He had come away , migrated to the muggle world, to lose track of himself but ironically his loneliness was pushing his thoughts into a direction which led him towards himself. his thoughts were disturbingly wild, painful, almost catastrophic, they were good enough to make a nutter of a normal man.

But then again, he wasn't normal. Was he? He knew these thoughts were important for his existence. They told him the truth. He needed to know it, after all the truth was the only logical answer to all his questions.

He had again been thinking about the same thing for the countless time when 'Draco Malfoy' was pulled out of the pool of bloody thoughts by an impatient greeting from his friend Blaise Zabini.

" Hey! So the ' LOVE SICK' CHERUB finally managed to leave his nest. I'm seriously impressed.", Draco said teasingly.

"Cut it out, Malfoy.", said Zabini in the same impatient tone, waving his hand in front of his face.

" Oh Merlin, ANGER! Blaise, did I just see you getting angry? Goodness gracious me, I was almost convinced that you had forgotten all other emotions but 'PURE, SELFLESS, EXOTIC, BLISSFUL, ETERNAL, BEAUTIFUL………... PIOUS, SACRIFICING……..HEAVENLY LOVE.!" ,Draco said in a mock tone of thanks giving to the heavens.

"Have a life Malfoy! Blaise barked

"Tell me Blaise , what is it with her that you just can't lay your hands off her? You didn't find her that interesting back at Hogwarts, did you? You yourself once said you would rather sleep with Trelawney than fuck her. I don't see what could have changed her that much. I didn't notice much of a change in her when I met her last. But well 'SOMEONE', of course has changed. I didn't have to tax my brain much in figuring out the reason for your tragic loss of " logic and presence of mind.", Draco sniggered, hinting at Luna who was very famous or as one may say infamous for her absent mindedness.

" I see you are in a mood to meet your creator" said Blaise, in a threatening voice, and was almost fuming by now.

After all Draco had disturbed him in the middle of his honeymoon. (Can't blame Draco for it either, the honeymoon has been on since Blaise and Luna said "I do" four months back and there was not the slimmest of chances that it would come to an end in at least the next couple of months , or even later.)

" No one can scare 'Draco Malfoy' ! Blaise, no one." ,said Draco with an air of superiority, gracing his statement with the now rare smirk.

"You are getting all impatient here. But let me bet, Luna will be thanking me for helping her get rid of you. After all I am the only one who managed to get you out of the house."

"Yes. Flatter yourself Draco, but you didn't succeed. Did you, I mean in spoiling my party ?" ,Blaise said with a glint in his eyes

"What is that supposed to mean?' Draco eyed him suspiciously.

"Nothing, just that I told Luna that she was also invited for the lunch by you , and just that she will be joining us shortly,……… and just that you will be stuck with the two 'LOVE SICK CHERUBS' again.", Blaise said victoriously

Draco stood there with an expression halfway between laughing and passing out. He did not know how to react. He couldn't believe that he had done it again. He had again refused to be away from Luna even for an hour. He was seriously in love, Draco thought to himself. Actually He didn't understand how could someone really fall in love.

He had always treated girls as commodities after all , to be used and thrown away, though his perception about women was slowly changing as he was coming of age. And since that 'someone' was Blaise it was all the more unbelievable. This was the same pervert who switched between girlfriends once a fort night, an art learnt through his long association with Draco Malfoy though he never was as efficient as Draco was and most of his girl friends were courtesy Draco.

And now here he stood accusing him of trying to 'spoil his party' just because he had tried to give Blaise and Luna 'a breather', literally, away from each other. Well she must be great, he thought to himself. She better be. Blaise was the closest thing to a family that Draco had known for the last five years and did not want his friend to be stuck up in a relationship that would eventually give him a broken heart. This was not the first incident when Draco had seen Blaise's love for Luna and he sincerely hoped that she also loved Blaise with the same intensity and passion.

"Oh no! How could you? I don't want to be stuck up with someone who still finds the Quibbler interesting and who can manage to almost fall asleep while having her lunch." Draco pretended to protest.

But the idea worked well with him, because one ,he thought it would be good to know his best friend's better half and two, he had an important and very secret matter at hand that would require Luna's help. With this Draco's lips curled into a smile but his eyes were still disturbed and worried as ever or even more. And Blaise did notice this.

"Watch out for that god damn tongue of yours, Malfoy.", Blaise blurted out, followed by a hearty laugh which Malfoy joined in.

"Anyway, tell me what is troubling you now ?", Blaise attempted.

"How on earth did you-"

But before he could finish his sentence Blaise went on coolly, "Since when have you been a good actor, Draco? You try to put on this humorous act and think that I would not come to know. And as it is God didn't do much of a favor to you in making your eyes so expressive. Come on now, shoot, what is it?"

Draco's face contorted into a frown. He didn't like being that vulnerable. Had he spent five years trying to control his feelings and emotions just to have Blaise reading him like an open book ? Still he could not help but secretly thank God for giving him such a friend, who understood him so perfectly, sometimes better than even Draco himself.

"Will you stop acting like a 'Mr. Know It All'?", Draco protested .

Blaise chuckled. These were rare occasions, you know, you don't manage an upper hand over Draco Malfoy every day, and he tried to enjoy every such moment.

"THEY ARE BACK.", Draco blurted out. And these words were enough to wipe the smirk off Zabini's face.

Draco stood there watching his expression change as the full impact of his words slowly sank in. He waited for a reply, and watched him standing petrified and drenched in sweat.


End file.
